Apache, an open-source Web server created by American software developer Robert McCool. Apache was released in 1995 and quickly gained a majority hold on the Web server market. Apache provides servers for Internet giants such as Google and Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia. In the early 21st century, Apache servers deployed more than 50 percent of the Internet’s content.

As a Web server, Apache is responsible for accepting directory (HTTP) requests from Internet users and sending them their desired information in the form of files and Web pages. Much of the Web’s software and code is designed to work along with Apache’s features. Programmers working on Web applications typically make use of a home version of Apache to preview and test code. Apache also has a safe and secure file-sharing feature, allowing users to put files into the root directory of their Apache software and share them with other users. The Apache server’s impact on the open-source software community is partly explained by the unique license through which software from the Apache Software Foundation is distributed.

Apache was originally known as the NCSA HTTPd Web server and was written by McCool when he was an undergraduate at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Apache is maintained and developed by a large community of volunteers and developers from the Apache Software Foundation, as well as by contributions from users worldwide.

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